Together, we are making a difference

May 18, 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread globally, we are working daily to assist response efforts in North Haiti. As you know, Haiti is ill-prepared to handle a widescale health crisis of any magnitude, let alone one on this scale, so preparedness is key to stemming the spread of the virus there.

The following represent just some of the actions Konbit Sante is taking to address the coronavirus situation in Haiti:

Messaging all over Greater Cap-Haitien with sound trucks (pickup trucks with large speakers in the bed) about the virus and how people can protect themselves, with a focus on wearing masks. We have also purchased three radio spots per day to broaden our reach.

Providing COVID training for and in conjunction with community health workers (agents de santé) from the Fort St. Michel health center, the ULS health center in Bande du Nord, and Haitian Baptist Convention Hospital in Quartier Morin. We have also provided them with small incentive pay bonuses and materials such as megaphones and brochures to assist their community education work.

Purchasing hundreds of buckets along with soap and chlorine to create hand-washing stations all over the region.

Contracting for 3,000 locally made masks to distribute to residents who cannot afford them (the Haitian government has decreed that all people need to wear masks in public). This also provides some income to the residents who make the masks at a time when the markets are severely restricted.

Working with the nonprofit organization Rise Against Hunger to provide 3,600 meals to the regional Haiti Ministry of Health office for distribution to people who need to isolate and may not have access to food.

Partnering with Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International to raise money that will support staff and patients with food, and to ship small-quantity items to Cap-Haitien. (Portland, Maine, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, are both sister cities to Cap-Haitien.)

Working with Rayjon Share Care, the Dalton Foundation, and other nonprofits to provide supplies, equipment, and funds to aid COVID-19 response in Greater Cap-Haitien.

As always, none of this would be possible without the support of donors like you. Our work is dependent on a continuous stream of revenue, and funding from individuals is crucial. Please considering donating today, even if it’s only a few dollars—for, in the words of a traditional Creole saying, Piti piti zwazo fè nich li. (Little by little, the bird makes it nest.)By ourselves, we can accomplish a little. But by working together, we can accomplish a lot. Thank you for choosing to accompany us in this konbit.